Talk To Me About Insurance

[sarabz]

I've seen a lot of comments about good experiences with Healthy Paws. I'm trying to compare quotes for a potential new addition. POTENTIAL.

 

That being said -

2 year old male greyhound (of course)

 

A sample of quotes so far -

$38 for Healthy Paws (80% coverage, $250 deductible, routine care essentially excluded)

$72 for Trupanion ($250 deductible, routine care essentially excluded),

$50 for Nationwide, formerly VPI (would also cover up to $500/year for a variety of things including $75 toward vaccinations, $120 toward routine exams, $95 toward flea/tick care, etc/$32 without this additional).

 

Another $9/month with VPI/Nationwide would also give us accident coverage for Bella, maybe not a bad thing as she ages. But now that she has been diagnosed with lumbosacral stenosis, they may use that to exclude a lot. Could also get the routine coverage. So both dogs with some routine expenses at least partially covered for the same amount as Trupanion?

 

 

Of course, all of the sites have grids "comparing" each plan to show that theirs is the best but I'm having a hard time seeing some of the details of plans. For examples, one site claims that VPI's deductible is per incident, not per year but I'm not seeing that anywhere in the quote from VPI (obviously may have changed). It's a little challenging to find out all of the details/fine print for each plan.

 

GAH!

 

Help appreciated

[tbhounds]

One thing to check for would be how they state the deductible-per year or per incident.

Edited October 5, 2015 by tbhounds

[NeedlenoseJake]

VPI uses their fee scale, which may or may not be what your vet actually charges (mostly likely it's under that). Healthy Paws seems to be the best value. That's what we have and luckily we haven't had to use it yet.

[sarabz]

I've read a ton about HP in this forum and it seems to be the best value for the price. I wish I could do a more customized (read: lower premium) price for my older girl but it still might be best. I'm finding that the truly catastrophic things don't happen often but we've now been to the vet several times over the past couple of months for little things that are adding up quickly, at $200 - $300 per visit (for tests, xrays, meds, etc etc etc).

[Remolacha]

Don't get VPI. It has been years since I had them, but from what I have read much more recently on GT, they haven't changed their ways!

[MandysMom]

I have PetPlan. Luckily I haven't had to make a claim yet (knock wood). They were highly recommended by a friend who has 3 Greyhounds (one who had an amp/chemo for OS and another with lupus and degenerative neuropathy) and 2 cats. They have paid quickly and without issue. Everyone I know with VPI hates it because of their schedule -- if you live in an expensive area, you will be out of luck.

[TXRedbo]

I have Healthy Paws, and they've been great so far. I have 80% coverage, with $250 annual deductible. When we first got Redbo, a couple of weird things popped up, so it was really great having the insurance in place. I was able to submit everything online and I received the first check within a week or two. They're also super responsive to my emails (even the stupid one about the one-time $25 fee that I didn't see).

[macoduck]

Since we just joined the Greyhound Health Initiative I will be switching to Embrace since we'll get a discount (up to 20%).

 

http://www.embracepetinsurance.com/compare

[kudzu]

Have you asked Healthy Paws for a lower deductible? I pay approx $110/mo for two dogs with HP. Each dog has a $50.00/year deductible. Both policies are for 90% coverage after deductible. Would be worth asking them what the premium would be with a lower deductible.

 

BTW, one dog has met the deductible every year. HP's payouts on his claims have almost completely covered the cost of his premiums. The other dog has yet to meet her measly $50/annual deductible in the 3 years she's been covered. Go figure.

[MP_the4pack]

I've had VPI since 2000. They were good back then. They're terrible now.

 

My current two are with Healthy Paws. The last VPI dog left me this year in Feb. She wasn't changed to Healthy Paws because of her age. But when I sent VPI the bill for cremation it was enough to automatically cancel the policy but not enough for Claims to accept it. Bereaved, I had to call them up to dispute the rejected claim.

They've paid as little as 20% on claims because that was what their schedule stated. When I inquired about their low payout, the response was that they were not meant to cover all or even most of the vet bill but just to help out.

 

They are HORRIBLE!!!!

 

Do not get VPI.

[Feisty49]

I am a fan of Healthy Paws Insurance. I pay $42 a month for Annie with a $250 deductible and a 90% reimbursement after meeting the deductible. It pays for everything except dentals, the vet's exam and routine vaccinations. It pays for meds, both prescriptions and OTC meds (such as glucosamine) if recommended by the vet. A representative is always available via email or on the phone. Claims can be submitted via a smart phone app. Easy peasy.

 

The only negative, which isn't all that bad, is I don't get an EOB or reimbursement check as quickly as I used to. This started at the beginning of the summer. Before that an EOB would be received in just a few days with a check in another 3 or 4 days. Now the EOB is taking 7+ days with a check about the same amount of time. That's not a big deal, I know, but when a company dealing in finances starts to slow down on reimbursement, I always wonder why.

[GreytTerp]

I'll just add as a supplemental discount card, I have been happy with PetAssure. I bought out guy a one year subscription, as he is prone to eating stuff he shouldn't when we least expect it. You have to go to a participating vet, but the list who take the card is expanding. It gives you a 25% discount on all in-office services, with no major exclusions. I got a year on group on for $40, and we got almost all of the cost back after just one silly visit over an eaten piece of onion.

[buddibear]

have ASPCA Pet Insurance for 4-5 years now. It increase yearly, but for my 12 year old grey it is 32.00 a month. 100 deductable per year, 80/20 payout on covered claims. Not for routine, vacines or dentals. After having 2 out of the blue incidents from 2 different fosters , I came out pretty good and did not pass the emergency bills on to our group.

[seeh2o]

Healthy Paws, hands and paws down. I love that company, no fuss, no muss. After the deductible was met they paid 90% of Doodles $3,000+ eight day hospital stay for her FCE and continue to pay for her on-going cold laser and acupuncture. If it weren't for them I don't know that she'd still be with me and wake me up whining every morning. I love that girl!

[Sundrop]

We have never had pet insurance, but after losing our boy last year to cancer - after a lot of testing, then an expensive surgery and some expensive medications and now we also have a girl with osteosarcoma, I am seriously considering it.

 

DH thinks we are better off just for things as they come up rather than shelling out monthly payments. I see his argument - our boy Deacon had never experienced any medical issues for five years, so we probably did come out financially better just paying for the testing, surgery, etc. I am actually pulling the numbers together for some analysis!

 

I wanted to ask - I see many do not recommend VPI, which is a shame, because I get a tiny discount thru work and they will take payments out of my check. I see a lot of positives for Healthy Paws, and I have seen mentions of Embrace, Trupanion and ASPCA. My question is - do the policies pay for specialists (e.g., oncologist or neurologist) AND do they pay our for testing such as MRIs?

 

Also, do they cover any routine wellness like heart worm and flea/tick prevention or annual exams?

[tbhounds]

I have Healthypaws for my boy. We had already met the annual $500 deductible when it was recommended he have a ct scan. It was so nice to be able to approve the test without question of how much and how to pay for it. Healthypaws paid 100% of the $1,600 test and all I had to do was submit the bill via their app. I had check in hand 10 days later no questions asked.

I will never be without pet insurance again.

[Beachbum1]

We have never had pet insurance, but after losing our boy last year to cancer - after a lot of testing, then an expensive surgery and some expensive medications and now we also have a girl with osteosarcoma, I am seriously considering it.

 

DH thinks we are better off just for things as they come up rather than shelling out monthly payments. I see his argument - our boy Deacon had never experienced any medical issues for five years, so we probably did come out financially better just paying for the testing, surgery, etc. I am actually pulling the numbers together for some analysis!

 

I wanted to ask - I see many do not recommend VPI, which is a shame, because I get a tiny discount thru work and they will take payments out of my check. I see a lot of positives for Healthy Paws, and I have seen mentions of Embrace, Trupanion and ASPCA. My question is - do the policies pay for specialists (e.g., oncologist or neurologist) AND do they pay our for testing such as MRIs?

 

Also, do they cover any routine wellness like heart worm and flea/tick prevention or annual exams?

I have had Embrace for both dogs for over 2-1/2 years.

​Taylor's Osteo care in 2015 was reimbursed to me in the amount of $10,000.00 and per my policy, that was 80% of the vet bills.

Every test and every procedure and every office visit and all medications were covered.

 

That was at a premium cost of $500.00 a year.

That's $1.37 a day. Still less than the cost of a gallon of gas. Way less than a cup of something at Starbucks.

 

Your husband's argument of setting premium money aside would mean that it would take around 8 years of saving to cover 4 chemo treatments. One year of savings might cover around 2/3 of ONE radiation treatment.

One year of savings would pay for maybe one day's stay at a hospital after a catastrophic injury or a surgery.

 

All of my claims were completed within 1 week, and I would have a check a few days later. Last winter and spring, Taylor and Face and I were going to the bank all the time to cash or deposit the checks (they have cookies there).

 

I am a firm believer in pet insurance. So are the vets (many were specialists), too.

 

Embrace also has additional coverage called Wellness. Available in 3 different levels. Covers a LOT of routine annual costs. Even nail trimming!! Basically, you're paying up front for "credit" to be used in claims, and you get a discounted price on that amount. So if you're going to pay for the stuff anyway, might as well save a little money.

Edited February 1, 2016 by Beachbum1

[MP_the4pack]

The thing with insurance is will you be more upset about throwing money away because you didn't need it? Or not being able to get treatment for your pet because you didn't have coverage?

Edited February 2, 2016 by MP_the4pack

[45MPHK9]

Murray wasn't sick for a single day in the seven years we've had him.....

 

.......and then (at age 12) he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The best advice I can give any pet owner is to have pet insurance. We spent close to $20,000 on him this summer and fall trying to figure out what was wrong with him and then having him treated with cyberknife radiation. I made payments on his pet insurance policy for seven years and never made one claim on him. This fall, Trupanion paid out 90% of the $20,000 we spent on him. Murray was in and out of the emergency hospital three times in the last week of his life. We spent $2,300 in that week alone. Veterinary care is very expensive. I'd never want to make a decision about my pet's health based on money. Thank God for insurance.

[sarabz]

We paid for insurance for three years and under the policy we had, we wouldn't have recouped much of the $1,500 spent at the e-vet last year (which would have been into the 5th year of premiums, and the total premiums for that time was definitely over $1,500). So it's a gamble - if there's something catastrophic, its worth it. If you have a healthy pet, maybe not so much.

 

Wow, Tricia, your story is very impactful.

Edited February 2, 2016 by sarabz

[45MPHK9]

Do you guys remember the story of Manny, the greyhound who had a 16" stick in his chest? The veterinary hospital stopped billing the family when they reached $20,000. This was all from an accident in the backyard. That story is here. Accidents can happen in a flash. Those bills can really pile up quickly.

[TwiggysMom]

I don't have pet insurance. In the past 4.5 years I have paid over 50k in vet bills for 1 dog. Already this year I have $2,500 on her medical care.

 

Sprintng down the street, trying to keep up with her joyful self makes it all worth it, but it's financially tough - especially now that I'm going to be unemployed & my house is falling apart, lol!

 

Next time I have a chance, I'm buying pet insurance!!

[seeh2o]

My question is - do the policies pay for specialists (e.g., oncologist or neurologist) AND do they pay our for testing such as MRIs?

Also, do they cover any routine wellness like heart worm and flea/tick prevention or annual exams?

With Healthy Paws, you do NOT need an extra rider for cancer treatment. They DO cover specialists like oncologists and neurologists WITHOUT requiring prior authorization like human plans do. When my Doodles was in the hospital in Dec 2014 for having had a stroke, she was attended to by a neurologist and his team, she was in the neuology ICU for 8 days. They paid without question. If I had opted for an MRI, they would have paid the $3,000 for it. They do not pay for office visits, flea and tick treatments or supplements. They DO pay for alternative therapies like acupuncture and cold laser. They will pay for annual exams, just not the office visit, but they will pay for the labs. They won't pay for preexisting conditions. I hope that helps!

The thing with insurance is will you be more upset about throwing money away because you didn't need it? Or not being able to get treatment for your pet because you didn't have coverage?

True. For me, I have always come out ahead in the long run. If I'd had them as puppies, that would probably not hold true, but because greyhounds are almost always adopted as dogs, for me, it has always paid off.